One Chance
by P.Crespi
Summary: Weiss struggles to make Ruby change her mind about a serious decision. One-shot.


A/N: Hello! I have a heavy tendency to make the RWBY girls suffer when I write, and I love every second of it.

Much like Dear Diary, this story has suicide as a major theme. If for some reason, this might act as a trigger, I beg that you stop here. There are many other -happier- stories waiting to be read on FF.

If you decide to jump in, welcome and thank you for spending time with me! If you spare a minute, you can also write a review - those are nice and they keep me on my toes!

Once again, thank you for reading!

* * *

Ruby hiked up rocks and jumped over a fence. Every so often she would stop to pop in another pill. Winter had always given her a feeling of uneasiness, nevertheless, the warmth of the sun made the girl feel a little less heavy, or perhaps it was just the strange resolve to let go that made things a bit more bearable.

Seventeen, eighteen, or was it eighteen and nineteen? She halted her steps to look at the bottle and decided to finish it, then she washed it down with whole milk, which she kept drinking until she reached her destination.

Little did she know that her favorite spot had already been claimed by a certain white-haired heiress. Weiss, feeling she was being watched, turned around to find Ruby standing by a tree.

"Hello. I'm Ruby." She approached Weiss and extended her right hand toward the stranger.

"Did you know you're trespassing?"

As Ruby retracted her unshaken hand, she nodded her head yes, "But I won't be long," she added. Ruby was used to the dismissive behavior of people toward her. The fact that Weiss decided not to shake her hand was hurtful nonetheless.

People were all the same.

The response rang in Weiss' head. "Could you be a bit more clear on what you mean by you won't be long?" she decided to ask.

"Oh." Ruby's smiled. "I'm planning on jumping off this cliff. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here at this time of the day, though. But I will be out of your way in a second."

Weiss was not expecting such a straightforward response, "Are you insane?!"

"Nope."

"So you're going to toss yourself from this cliff. Just like that?"

"Yes."

"You're out of your mind."

"Nope. So, if you could excuse me…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not under my watch. No, you won't." When Weiss' fingers touched Ruby's arm, silver greeted blue. Not even the fact that Ruby's knees buckled because of the amount of force the heiress used kept them from looking away.

Weiss was quick to help the younger girl stand her ground. Within Weiss' firm hold, Ruby was mesmerized by pools of deep blue, "Y-you never told me your name."

"Are you drunk?" Weiss was stern. Not because she was not going to answer the question but because Ruby seemed not to have an ounce of regret about her decision.

"No. I don't drink."

"…"

"I'm Weiss."

"Weiss." Ruby repeated. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful smile?"

Weiss chucked, "Compared to yours, mine is unremarkable." The warmth on her cheeks spoke so much more than the quite forward answer.

The sun was at its highest point and the rays hit all of the right spots making Weiss' hair glimmer, and Ruby thought that scene to be terrific. There was something about Weiss that Ruby couldn't explain very well, something that made Ruby miss the contact immediately after she wiggled her way out of Weiss' touch. As the brunette walked away from the heiress to make herself comfortable sitting by a rock, her heart wanted nothing more than to look at the white-haired girl, so Ruby lifted her head, but only met Weiss' back, "That is a tremendous lie!"

Air filled up Weiss' lungs and she held her breath while closing the distance between her and the brunette. It was as if there was a hidden force dragging the heiress toward Ruby. "Do you happen to know who I am?" She said, kneeling in front of the younger girl.

"I'm sorry. I don't."

Ruby's words were sincere, and right there, Weiss knew the girl meant no harm.

"You're better off not knowing."

Just then Ruby stood up sluggishly. "You're a beautiful girl and I wish I had more time to talk to you, but…" Ruby's chest tightened and she had to take a second to recover, "but I—" Ruby stepped toward the edge of the cliff.

"…Why?" Weiss' question came out in a whisper.

"My heart has been broken in so many pieces and put back into place so many times, what's left of the shattered pieces are just piled up together now. I've nothing to live for. There's no fixing it anymore."

"You know you're not supposed to do it, right? Even if you find yourself in the depths of misery, you're supposed to press forward and keep on living."

"Why are you saying those things? You don't even know me… And if you knew me, you wouldn't care."

"Ruby…"

"…"

"I know we just met, but what if we could change that?" Weiss was not lying. "I… might be acting selfishly, but I'd love to change that!"

Ruby lowered her head and took another step toward the edge.

"Not on my watch, I said!" Weiss caught Ruby by the waist as she readied herself to leap, "You insufferable child! What's with you?!"

All of the shaking made Ruby's breathing uneven, her chest constricted and it felt as if five hundred pounds sat atop of it. Even so, Weiss' embrace was heavenly; the scent of her hair, which grazed Ruby's cheeks when she grabbed her, was wondrous and Ruby melted into a small pool as Weiss brought her to the ground gently.

"Ruby…" Weiss wasn't kidding, "You're scaring me."

Ruby smiled, "How can you be so pretty when you're angry?"

"Ruby…"

"I'll take your deal, Weiss."

"…"

"But you only have one chance to make me change my mind."

"Ruby, please, don't speak."

"I swear to you that if you hurt me like all of the others have, I won't hesitate to come back to this very spot and I… will… lea—"

Within Weiss' arms, Ruby's small frame convulsed. Weiss reached for her pocket, pulling her phone and pressing a speed-dial contact.

"Code red. I repeat, code red. I need paramedics! Bring all of your fucking people here."

"Now!" Weiss screamed.

By the time Weiss had hung up the phone, three of her bodyguards had shown up in a four-wheeler.

"When she fell, she dropped this bottle. You do whatever it takes to save her. Whatever it takes!"

"Yes, Ms. Schnee!"

"Shut up and pump her stomach, you moron! You've done it to me before, it shouldn't be that hard!"

"Yes. Ms. Schnee."

Weiss cried, much to the amusement of the guards who tried to revive Ruby.

For the first time, Weiss' emotions were exposed for everyone to see, and she couldn't care less what the guards would think. For the first time, Weiss Schnee, the SDC brat, gave no fucks.

Weiss Schnee. Gave. Zero. Fucks.

Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation – one of the last diamond companies in Remnant. Weiss Schnee, daughter, sister, classmate. Weiss Schnee, impatient, arrogant, irascible. Those adjectives were only the beginning of the never-ending list of names she had been called. Her ascribed status had its implications as it is: once one is born a Schnee, one is marked by the blessing of royalty and the malediction of being watched and scrutinized by all.

Although Weiss was respectful toward her elders, she disregarded her peers; no one was there to make friends after all. There were always ulterior motives tied to becoming close to a Schnee: whether it was for monetary reasons or simply for prestige, there was always a hidden agenda behind people's actions. Weiss had always been warned about such people, the ones who become friends not because they want to be there for you, but because they want to be seen with you. And those were also the people who would walk away broadcasting the largest amounts of lies.

The heiress grew up with no close friends, no confidants, no one to share her fears with. By the time her sister Winter started to show a bit more warmth toward Weiss, the older girl was getting ready to join the Atlesian Military. Winter was the closest thing to a friend Weiss had ever had.

Self-isolation led Weiss to doubt things would ever be better. If living like that, having to feign happiness was all she was allowed to do as a Schnee, then what a terrible way to live.

Fuck that life.

It was early in the morning when Weiss decided to leave her home in Atlas and head toward Patch. The Schnees' summer home was Weiss' favorite place on earth, away from all of the maids, drivers and homeschool teachers, Patch gave Weiss the excuse to dodge people and to avoid the bitter-cold nights and the freezing mornings of Atlas.

Weiss had not waited for the sun to rise before jumping in a plane and heading west. Patch was as beautiful as ever and the sun, slowly ascending from behind the mountains, made that morning all the more wonderful.

Thin but strong fingers had unlatched the locks and opened every window of the three-bedroom home. The smell of coffee invaded the kitchen and living room, then up the stairs it went, reaching Weiss' nostrils and immediately turning the heiress' feet toward the source of the scent. The coffee, locally cultivated, freshly ground and brewed by the older housekeeper –and sole inhabitant of the old home – tasted like summer when it first hit Weiss' lips. Out of a sudden that house had been flooded by memories of warmer mornings when her sister was still around and when life was much easier.

Weiss refilled her cup and excused herself asking the older man to allow the bodyguards to join him for breakfast. She did not want to see them, nor was she ready to know how many of them had left Atlas to follow her across Remnant.

The pictures on the walls were cliché, she thought. The fake smiles, the forced embraces. The people she had only seen once or twice but that apparently were important enough in the expansion of the Schnee Corporation, that they had earned a spot on that wall. Weiss looked at each frame as she went down to the basement and before she turned on the lights to the room ahead of her, she sat on the last step and finished her coffee before proceeding.

There was flickering but at the end, the old bulbs were strong enough to remain on. Bookshelves filled with tittles written by authors from Vacuo to Mistral took over the walls and in the center of the room stood a Grand Piano. Weiss ran her fingers across the lid; the instrument cried out as if it begged to be touched, to be given attention, to be loved. Weiss could not ignore the pleading so she sat down, delicately touching the ivory keys.

A sad melody enveloped the room for what if felt like hours. The strings had been recently tightened, like someone knew Weiss would be coming to the house, like that same someone knew that the heiress could not say no to the begging of the old piano. If there was anyone or anything in the face of the Earth that could always get their way with Weiss, that piano was it. And Weiss loved that old piece of furniture: the way it could understand how she felt and the way it could explain without words the longing in Weiss' heart.

The music finally stopped and Weiss closed the fallboard while silently apologizing to the old friend for not having spent more time playing it when she was younger. She then proceeded to the back of the basement and stopped in front of a safe. Punching a few buttons she unlocked and opened it. Weiss reached inside and pulled one of the various guns which were secured within the coffer. The revolver was her second favorite weapon, only losing to Myrtenaster. She thought for a second about the irony of finding solace in inanimate objects since it was hard –almost impossible, rather– to find people she could trust and love.

Weiss locked the safe and walked away. Sitting once more by the piano, she laid an open box atop of the instrument's lid. She pulled a single bullet out of the box, fed one of the cylinder's chambers with the ammunition and spun the cylinder, closing it before it had stopped swirling. She cocked the hammer and brought the gun to her head. Eyes closed tightly, she bit down and pulled the trigger.

At the sound of a click, she exhaled. Her heart was racing, her thoughts whirling inside her head. Then, even before her hands stopped shaking she brought the gun back up against her head and was about to pull the trigger a second time when she heard someone come down the stairs.

The old man handed Weiss another cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes. No words were exchanged as he looked at the gun in Weiss' hand and back at the heiress. He simply smiled at her and walked back up the stairs, closing the door behind him.

Weiss drank the coffee.

She sat on the floor and finished the plate of pancakes. They were good: they were sweet, gooey in the middle and not only did they have peanut butter spread on top of them, they were also drenched in syrup, a puddle of it surrounded the treats.

Weiss took the dirty dishes to the kitchen and sat them inside the sink, "Thank you."

The old man knew that she was thanking him for so much more than the pancakes. He also knew that there was only so much he could help to avoid.

"My pleasure." He mumbled discouraged.

The heiress walked out of the house, across the driveway and into the trees surrounding the Schnee property. She only stopped when the path ended and she spotted the vastness of a lake. Weiss stood perhaps at the highest point of a cliff. She loved that spot. She had seen the sunset and sunrise so many times from atop those rocks, she could always close her eyes and picture it, but nothing was more beautiful than seeing it in person: the yellow mixing with orange and melting into a deep red as it lowered into the water. Nevertheless, Weiss wasn't going to wait for the sun to set that time.

She sat on a rock and let her feet dangle freely. Even though the water covered the majority of the rocks, if one were to fall from that height, the chances of surviving were little to none. Weiss grew up hearing the warnings from everyone around her, but she loved that place and she had always been very careful.

There were only a few boats on the water, a much different picture than the multitude of people that crowded the lake during the summer. Being alone was not quite as bad when nature had painted such a breathtaking picture.

Weiss stood up and looked down one more time, she then got closer to the edge and looked up. The heiress held her breath and…

"Hello. I'm Ruby."

* * *

A/N: If you thought this story was quite similar to "Self Conclusion" by Spill Canvas, you were correct. They're going on tour again this year. Anyone else has tickets to see them?

"Ten minutes before you got here, I was gonna jump too" Gets me every. Single. Time!

Review, comment, send me a DM. I'm here all night. :)

Thank you!


End file.
